Island whisky

The Island region is considered by some to be a part of the Highlands, but we chose to classify them separately, as the island whiskies tend to differ quite a bit from the Highland ones.

Orkney

The islands region include the islands of Orkney (in the very north), Skye, Lewis, Mull, Jura and Arran. With the exception of Orkney, which lies north of the Scottish mainland, the other islands are all along the Western coast, with Lewis in the far west, containing the most westerly located distillery in Scotland, and Arran wedged in between the Scottish Lowlands to the east and the Kintyre peninsula (which includes the city and whisky region of Campbeltown) to the west. The island region excludes the island of Islay, which has its very own classification as a whisky region.

Standing stone at the Island of Jura

Due to the large geographical spread between the islands on which the distilleries are located, it’s slightly harder to classify an Island whisky, as they certainly are a mixed bag. If anything, Island whiskies tend to be briny, smoky and peaty, though typically less so than their Islay cousins. There certainly are exceptions, though, as for instance, Scapa chooses not to use peated malt, leading to their whisky being exceptionally flowery and honey-ish for an Island whisky. Likewise, Arran mostly is unpeated, and due to the relatively sheltered location of the island, its whisky tends to be more smooth than typical other Islanders.